Safety systems or features are often employed with power equipment such as table saws, miter saws, band saws, jointers, shapers, circular saws and other woodworking machinery, to minimize the risk of injury when using the equipment. Probably the most common safety feature is a guard that physically blocks an operator from making contact with dangerous components of the equipment, such as blades, belts or shafts. In many cases, guards effectively reduce the risk of injury, however, there are many instances where the nature of the operations to be performed precludes using a guard that completely blocks access to hazardous machine parts.
Other safety systems have been developed to detect when a human body contacts a predetermined portion of a machine, such as detecting when a user's hand touches the moving blade on a saw. When that contact is detected, the safety systems react to minimize injury. These types of safety systems often employ a brake mechanism housed in a cartridge and mounted in the machine.
The present document discloses brake cartridges and mounting systems for brake cartridges used in safety systems for power equipment.